Rain, hail and surf bring weekend to a close, with clear skies returning soon

Rain, wind, sun, big coastal waves and even hail in some places swept across the Bay Area on Saturday, delivering a colorful catalog of winter weather conditions all rolled into hours.

Weather forecasters say sunny conditions will return from Sunday to Wednesday, with temperatures reaching highs in the 60s in some areas, and by midweek some inland areas will see highs in the high 30s overnight, and more is expected to plummet to around 20 degrees.

“Winter can feel like a roller coaster ride,” says Roger Gass, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Monterey.

The National Weather Service issued a high surf warning for Big Sur from Marin County through 7 p.m. Saturday, with 18- to 22-foot high waves hitting the coast.

“There are active storms over the Pacific,” Gus said. “They were creating a pretty big swell and moving into the area. I think some surfers would be happy, but it’s creating dangerous beach conditions for beachgoers.”

Sure enough, on Saturday afternoon, as impressive and sometimes imposing big waves crashed onto Northern California beaches, surfers flocked to many of the most popular spots, including Santa Cruz’s Steamer Lane, as crowds swept over the iconic waves. gathered to see

Saturday’s rains came in from the northwest in a low-pressure system, bringing the entire Bay Area its first wet conditions of the week. It increased the reservoir and caused heavy snowfall in the Sierra Nevada.

Saturday’s rainfall was moderate. East Bay’s Mount Diablo received the most total of 0.67 inches in his 24 hours ending at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Next was White Rock Ridge in the hills south of Carmel at .59 inches, Rodeo at .45, Fremont He Peak near Hollister at .43 and Mount Tamalpais in Marin County at .40.

The Santa Cruz Mountains received about a third of an inch on Saturday, while San Francisco got 0.08 inches, Oakland got 0.06 inches, San Jose got 0.04 inches, and the Bay Area’s major cities got less.

“Rainfall is spotty and scattered,” Gus said. “There is no deep water vapor rushing inland like an atmospheric river.

Rain briefly turned to hail in some places on Saturday morning as colder air loomed above.

Although total rainfall is modest, this winter’s Bay Area rainfall is well above the historical average. From October 1 through Saturday afternoon in San Francisco, he had 22.83 inches of precipitation. This is 160% of the normal for the day and equals the annual average rainfall for the entire city, with two months remaining until the winter rainy season.

Auckland was 21.99 inches on Saturday. This is 194% of the historical average and well above the yearly average annual total of 18.68 inches. San Jose, on the other hand, is 9.08 inches since Oct. 1, 116% of his historical average, but still about 4 inches short of his annual average of 13.48 inches.

Forecasts point to high pressure to return to the West Coast. That means it could be sunny on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and rainy on Thursday and Friday.

“I’m going to take a break,” Gus said. “But it gets cold at night.”